Chlorinated paraffins (CPs) are high-production volume industrial chemicals consisting of n-alkanes (with 10 to 30 carbon atoms in the chain) with chlorine content from 30 to 70% of weight. In Europe, the use of short chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs) has been restricted by the Stockholm Convention on POPs due to their PBT (persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic) properties. Medium (MCCPs) and long chain (LCCPs) chlorinated paraffins are used as substitution products. In this work we studied the partitioning behavior of five different CP technical mixtures from the established categories (2 SCCPs, 1 MCCP, 1 LCCP and 1 CP technical mixture covering all categories) using passive dosing, by determining the partitioning coefficient of CP technical mixtures between silicone and water ( K) as well as between organic matter and water ( K). We show that both silicone-water and organic carbon-water partition coefficients overlap between different categories of CP technical mixtures. These results indicate that in-use MCCPs and LCCPs may be equally or more bioaccumulative than restricted SCCPs. For the tested mixtures, both chlorine content and carbon chain length showed a significant correlation with both K and K.

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Chlorinated paraffins (CPs) are industrial chemicals, subdivided into three categories: short chain (SCCPs), medium chain (MCCPs), and long chain (LCCPs) chlorinated paraffins. SCCPs are currently restricted in Europe and North America. MC and LCCPs are being used as substitution products, but there is a knowledge gap concerning their bioaccumulation potential in aquatic organisms. In this work, we performed laboratory bioconcentration (passive uptake) and bioaccumulation (including dietary uptake) experiments with Daphnia magna using five different CP technical substances. All tested CP technical substances were bioaccumulative in D. magna, with log BCF and log BAF values ranging between 6.7−7.0 and 6.5−7.0 (L kg lipid −1 ), respectively. An increase in carbon chain length and an increase in chlorine content (% w/w) of the CP technical substances had significant positive effects on the log BCF and log BAF values. For the different CP technical substances, 50% depuration was achieved after 2 to 10 h when D. magna were transferred to clean media. Our results show that SC, MC, and LCCPs are (very)bioaccumulative in aquatic organisms. We believe these data can aid the ongoing policy discussion concerning the environmental risk posed by CPs.

Obesity is a global health threat. OECD reported that more than half (52%) of the adult population in the European Union is overweight or obese. Obesity and obesity-related co-morbidities have deep negative effects on morbidity, mortality, professional and personal quality of life. Healthcare costs represent a negative impact of this disease, with an associated economic cost of 100 billion US$ per year in the United States. The most prescribed drugs for obesity treatment worldwide are orlistat, and phentermine/topiramate extended release, while the major prescribed drug for the same disease in the US are exenatide and dapagliflozin. The so far developed drugs, targeting weight loss, have a long history of malignant secondary effects. There is still a lack of efficient and safe drugs to treat obesity and related metabolic complications since in many cases cure cannot be reached by bariatric surgery or healthy lifestyle habits. Terrestrial and aquatic organisms are a promising source of valuable, bioactive compounds, often with interest for human health. Some of the natural compounds or organisms have been used for centuries by humans as traditional medicine foods. In this review, we give insights into the adipose tissue function and development, and the progress in traditional anti-obesity pharmacotherapy. A major focus is to highlight the state of the art of natural compounds with anti-obesity properties and their potential as candidates for drug development; an overview is given about natural compounds derived from different marine animal sources, cyanobacteria, marine phytoplankton, fungus or plants.

The itch associated with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL), including Mycosis Fungoides (MF) and Sézary syndrome (SS), is often severe and poorly responsive to treatment with antihistamines. Recent studies have highlighted the possible role of interleukins in nonhistaminergic itch. We investigated the role of IL-31 and IL-8 in CTCL, concerning disease severity and associated itch. Serum samples of 27 patients with CTCL (17 MF and 10 SS) and 29 controls (blood donors) were analyzed for interleukin- (IL-) 31 and IL-8; correlations with disease and itch severity were evaluated. IL-31 serum levels were higher in CTCL patients than in controls and higher in SS than in MF. Also, serum IL-31 levels were higher in patients with advanced disease compared to those with early disease, and they correlated positively with lactate dehydrogenase and beta 2-microglobulin levels, as well as with the Sézary cell count. Itch affected 67% of CTCL patients (MF: 47%; SS: 100%). Serum IL-31 levels were higher in itching patients than in controls and in patients without itching. There was no association between serum IL-8 and disease severity, nor with itching. Serum IL-8 levels correlated positively with peripheral blood leukocyte and neutrophil counts in CTCL patients. Our study suggests a role for IL-31 in CTCL-associated itch, especially in advanced disease and SS, offering a rational target for new therapeutic approaches. Increased serum IL-8 observed in some patients may be related to concomitant infections, and its role in exacerbating itch by recruiting neutrophils and promoting the release of neutrophil proteases deserves further investigation.

a b s t r a c tThis study is based on a previous experimental work in which embedded cylindrical heaters were applied to a pultrusion machine die, and resultant energetic performance compared with that achieved with the former heating system based on planar resistances. The previous work allowed to conclude that the use of embedded resistances enhances significantly the energetic performance of pultrusion process, leading to 57% decrease of energy consumption. However, the aforementioned study was developed with basis on an existing pultrusion die, which only allowed a single relative position for the heaters.In the present work, new relative positions for the heaters were investigated in order to optimise heat distribution process and energy consumption. Finite Elements Analysis was applied as an efficient tool to identify the best relative position of the heaters into the die, taking into account the usual parameters involved in the process and the control system already tested in the previous study. The analysis was firstly developed based on eight cylindrical heaters located in four different location plans. In a second phase, in order to refine the results, a new approach was adopted using sixteen heaters with the same total power. Final results allow to conclude that the correct positioning of the heaters can contribute to about 10% of energy consumption reduction, decreasing the production costs and leading to a better eco-efficiency of pultrusion process.

Standard aquatic toxicity tests of chemicals are often limited by the chemicals’ water solubility. Liposomes have been widely used in the pharmaceutical industry to overcome poor pharmacokinetics and biodistribution. In this work, liposomes were synthesized and used in an ecotoxicological context, as a tool to assure stable dosing of technically challenging chemicals to zooplankton. Three chemicals with distinctly different characteristics were successfully incorporated into the liposomes: Tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA, log Kow 5.9, pKa1 7.5, pKa2 8.5), chlorinated paraffin CP-52 (log Kow 8–12) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA, pKa 2.8). The size, production yield and stability over time was similar for all blank and chemical-loaded liposomes, except for when the liposomes were loaded with 10 or 100 mg g−1 PFOA. PFOA increased the size and decreased the production yield and stability of the liposomes. Daphnia magna were exposed to blank and chemical-loaded liposomes in 48 hour incubation experiments. A dose-dependent increase in body burden in D. magna and increased immobilization (LD50 = 7.6 ng CPs per individual) was observed. This confirms not only the ingestion of the liposomes but also the successful internalization of chemicals. This study shows that liposomes can be a reliable alternative to aid the study of aquatic toxicity of challenging chemicals.

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